Geospatial data standards focus of new DOD group

The recently established Geospatial Intelligence Standards Technical Working Group is a forum for exchanging ideas to standardize and improve sharing geospatial information across Defense Department, intelligence and homeland security agencies.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is striving to standardize and improve the sharing of geospatial information across Defense Department, intelligence and homeland security agencies. To that end, NGA recently established the Geospatial Intelligence Standards Technical Working Group as a forum for exchanging ideas.

The group also will help develop standards for the DOD IT Standards and Profile Registry and bring together subject matter experts to study geospatial intelligence standards.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper Jr., NGA's director, said the working group will push systems and information interoperability across Defense, intelligence and homeland security agencies. To help ensure consensus, the group's members are drawn from these agencies, Clapper said.

"We can identify and implement these standards by working together to make sure they meet our community requirements and support our enterprise systems," he said.